


Cassiopeia

by skittiecat



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fluff, It's all fluff, it doesn't really have a lot to do with ashe's birthday tbh but i liked this idea a lot!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 07:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21050399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skittiecat/pseuds/skittiecat
Summary: Ashe catches Byleth stargazing as midnight approaches on the eve of his birthday and the two of them share a moment together as they talk about the stars.[Happy birthday Ashe!]





	Cassiopeia

**Author's Note:**

> I've always loved the headcanon that Byleth would find constellations in Ashe's freckles, it's so sweet.  
I hope everyone enjoys! c: 
> 
> Happy birthday, Ashe!

"Orion... Ursa Major... Cassiopeia..."  
  
Byleth sat alone on the cold stone wall at the monastery on this chilled autumn night, a quiet evening illuminated only by the starlight paired together with the moonlight. Midnight was fast approaching and everyone else had already drifted off to sleep. Byleth simply couldn't drift off to a sweet slumber though. The war had finally ended after far too many years of fighting and far too much bloodshed, yes, but there was still so much work to be done, so many thoughts weighing heavily on her mind. Between quelling the occasional skirmish here and there and restoring Garreg Mach to its former glory, there was simply not a lot of time for the former mercenary to truly relax and spend quality time alone. This sleepless night was perfect for stargazing though, so she took the opportunity to unwind and reminisce of simpler times. Her relaxation was cut short, however, when she heard the quiet shuffling of someone nearby. Quiet and subtle, yes, but someone was definitely close.  
  
She swiftly and silently hopped down from the stone wall and reached underneath her coat for her dagger. She was well aware that thieves and former empire soldiers could be lingering anywhere, and she was not willing to take any chances, so she readied herself for the worst. She took a moment to ponder whether or not attacking without warning was the best course of action, and given there was a chance it could be a comrade, she decided it would be wiser to make her presence known first to give the person lingering in the shadows a chance to explain themselves. She saw movement in the corner of her eye and directed all her attention to it at once.  
  
"Show yourself," she barked out at the shadowy figure, not wasting a single moment.  
  
"Oh!"  
  
She heard a surprised and all too familiar voice, and she allowed her tense muscles to relax as the silver-haired archer walked into the soft light of the moon, bathing him in a gentle, luminous glow.  
  
"I'm sorry if I startled you, professor! I didn't think anyone else would be awake," Ashe nervously chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his hair.  
  
Byleth's lips curled into a subtle smirk and she shook her head.  
  
"You should be more careful, I was ready to attack you, you know. What are you doing awake at this hour?"  
  
"I just couldn't sleep, but I, uh, I could ask you the same, professor."  
  
It seemed as though she had really made him nervous, which caused Byleth to feel a sense of guilt, yet she was also amused at how earnest and easy to read he was. She softly chuckled to herself, deciding that she would actually prefer to have Ashe's company instead of sitting here alone.  
  
"I was actually stargazing. Care to join me?"  
  
She made her way back to the stone wall and sat upon it once again, patting the empty space next to her, urging Ashe to join her.  
  
"Are you sure? I didn't mean to intrude, you don't have to invite me if you'd rather be alone."  
  
"Nonsense, I'm not inviting you just to be polite. I genuinely enjoy your company, Ashe."  
  
She could almost swear that she saw a flush appear upon his freckled face at her innocent comment, but it was difficult to say with only the moonlight illuminating him. Still, if she knew him, and she knew him well, even a small amount of praise would be enough to fluster him. She could feel a smile creep upon her lips, an expression she was still not quite used to making so freely, but Ashe seemed to be able to bring forth all kinds of feelings she wasn't used to, whether intentional or not.  
  
He made his way to where Byleth was sitting and sat next to her upon the stone, the pair sitting together in comfortable silence as the stars twinkled overhead, each one like a brilliant, sparkling jewel hanging in the velvety darkness of the sky.  
  
"You know, Lonato always told me that my parents were up there, watching over me among the stars. I know that probably sounds silly, but I wonder if they'd be proud of the person I've become. Sometimes I... I think they'd be disappointed. Lonato and Cristophe, too."  
  
Byleth wasn't very good at handling situations like this. She had learned to express her feelings more openly after meeting Ashe and all her other former students and, truth be told, she had become wonderful at reassuring them when they had doubts about their strength and skills in combat, but it was more difficult for her to offer reassurance when it came to matters of the heart. She said nothing and decided on reaching toward Ashe's resting hand and squeezing it instead, silently reassuring him while she took a moment to ponder what she should say to him.  
  
"I'm afraid that I don't have the answers to that, but what I can tell you is that you're a wonderful man. You're a truly wonderful man, Ashe. Every choice you've made, every difficult decision you've been faced with up to now, everything you've done has all been for the benefit of you and your siblings, and I think that's truly something to be proud of."  
  
She squeezed his hand again, and he squeezed back, his sweet laugh echoing through the night, ringing through the crisp air as if his very laugh was a gift from the goddess herself.  
  
"You always know what to say, don't you Professor?"  
  
His brilliant green eyes sparkled in the silvery moonlight as he turned his face toward her, the sweetest of smiles gracing his delicate features. His smile alone made heat rise up to Byleth's face and a warm, gentle feeling grow in her chest that she was not all too familiar with. She could take a guess as to what it was, and she did everything she could to suppress it for the time being, but she couldn't help herself as her body moved on its own and she placed her hands on Ashe's cheeks, moving her face mere centimeters away from his as her eyes stared intently into his own.  
  
Ashe inhaled sharply at the shock of the professor's sudden movements but did nothing to stop her. He wondered why she was staring at him with such an expression, why she was so close to him, and he could feel himself turning red again, cursing himself for being so easily flustered by her. His heart rate quickened, and he could hear his pulse within his ears. Knowing that Byleth had to be aware of what she was doing to him did nothing to quell these feelings, which caused his face to turn an even deeper shade of scarlet. He could only pray that the veil of the night could do something to hide the flush upon his face.  
  
"...Phoenix. Aries. Lacerta..."  
  
Byleth cupped Ashe's face gently with one hand as she began to delicately trace shapes among his freckles with her other, leaving the man bewildered and at a loss for words. Byleth was hard to read, but her expression seemed to hold some kind of wistfulness, yet the corners of her lips lifted into the most subtle of smiles. With Ashe's body temperature and heart rate rising even more from this gesture, innocent as it may be intended, he felt as if he was about to explode.  
  
"P-professor?" Ashe managed to squeak out in a small, cracking voice.  
  
"Did you know that Jeralt--father--taught me all sorts of constellations?" Byleth asked nonchalantly as she released Ashe's face and shifted her vision back up to the sky.  
  
Ashe could easily admit that he missed the softness of her touch already, but he couldn't help but sigh in relief that he finally had a moment to calm his nerves.  
  
"He said that memorizing the night sky would always keep me from getting lost," Byleth continued.  
  
"You never mentioned that before, no," he answered after a moment, once he steadied his breathing and felt as though he would be able to speak in a normal manner.  
  
"I see. Well, he was right. Back in my mercenary days, using the stars as a guide prevented me from getting lost more than a few times."  
  
"It seems we both have memories of our fathers tied to the stars, don't we?" Ashe responded with a melancholy chuckle.  
  
Byleth hummed in response.  
  
"I suppose we do."  
  
Silence fell upon the duo once more as each of them looked to the twinkling stars again, each reminiscing about days long gone, about days where their fathers were around to guide them. Ashe knew now that none of his relatives were actually up there among the twinkling cosmos, but back when he was a child, hearing Lonato say such a thing brought him a sense of comfort during painful times. He was sure that his siblings probably felt the same way too, and his thoughts wandered to them. He hoped they were doing well and made a mental note to get back home to them as quickly as possible.  
  
"You know, the one that helped me find my way the most was Cassiopeia, though," Byleth suddenly said, breaking the silence between them.  
  
"Pardon?"  
  
"When I look at you, I can see it on your face. Cassiopeia. I can find quite a few constellations in your freckles if I look closely, but that's the one I notice the most. Almost like..."  
  
She turned to look upon his freckled-face and cupped a cheek in her hand again, caressing his face with her thumb ever so gently. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, humming and smiling at the comforting sensation she offered him. His skin was so soft, so warm, even on such a chilly night, and she found herself wanting to keep her hand upon his face forever, but quickly grounded herself. She moved her hand back to her lap, earning what she almost thought was a huff of protest from Ashe, but she decided not to dwell on it.  
  
"It's almost as if having you by my side has kept me from getting lost," she continued her earlier thought.  
  
A gentle gust swirled around them just then, ruffling Ashe's silver hair into a mess and making Byleth's vivid green locks gracefully dance upon the wind, swirling and twirling around her head as if it were a dancing mane with a mind all its own. The two of them gazed into one another's eyes without saying a word as the wind died down, and they leaned to one another slowly with their hands resting upon one another's, until their foreheads finally met, each resting upon the other's. Neither of them dared take the next step as they were both in uncharted territory and unsure of what was actually going on between them, so they remained as such for only a brief amount of time, though it felt like an eternity of happiness to each of them.  
  
"A-ah, it's past midnight now, I should... Get to bed. It's late," Ashe said breaking the silence, disappointed that this intimate moment was going to have to come to an end so soon.  
  
He gracefully jumped down from the wall, but he felt as though he could barely stand with how wobbly his legs were after what had just happened, so he quickly reached to the wall to balance himself in an attempt to regain his bearings. The last thing he needed right now was to embarrass himself further and collapse right in front of Byleth. He wondered if this time together had meant anything to her or not, but even if it didn't, it was still a moment that he would cherish in his heart forever, such a fond and sweet memory.  
  
He finally felt steady enough and offered a wave as he turned to leave, heading in the direction of his quarters to finally earn some much-needed slumber.  
  
"Ashe, before you go, one more thing," Byleth called out.  
  
Ashe turned to look at her, the moonlight illuminating her silhouette, causing a silver halo to appear all around her. At this moment, Ashe didn't think anything more beautiful could possibly exist, it was almost as though Byleth was the goddess herself. No, she was even more magnificent than any goddess could ever be, more so than anyone could ever dream of, Ashe decided, and it was at this moment that he truly realized just how deep these feelings for her went.

Byleth's lips formed yet another gentle smile, this time the happiness reaching all the way up to her eyes. Oh, how she hoped she would get the opportunity to have many more moments such as this with him.

"Happy birthday, Ashe."


End file.
